


Crooked Teeth

by WhatsYourNameMan



Series: It’s not Sunset Cis either [19]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex and Reggie get top surgery and they are Drugged Up, Fluff, Gen, Gender Dysphoria, None of the Phantoms are cis and I think that’s beautiful, Rated T for language, Short & Sweet, Song fic, Trans Alex Mercer, Trans Character, Trans Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Trans Reggie Peters, crooked teeth, top surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28806699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsYourNameMan/pseuds/WhatsYourNameMan
Summary: “Next up on 90s on 9, we’ve got a classic Trevor Wilson hit, ‘Crooked Teeth.’”I look out from my own eyes like a diver from a maskI’m deep inside a worldview I know can never last“Woah,” Alex laughs, “deja vu.”“What do you mean?” Julie asks.“I wrote this song the last time Reggie had surgery,” Luke explains.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Bobby | Trevor Wilson & Alex Mercer & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters
Series: It’s not Sunset Cis either [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2022667
Comments: 12
Kudos: 168





	Crooked Teeth

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I know almost every fic in this series is based on an Ezra Furman song but my favorite song by her is literally a teeth-based metaphor for dysphoria so I couldn’t just... Not turn that into Crooked Teeth. 
> 
> The song is “My Teeth Hurt” and you should definitely listen to it and read Furman’s explanation of it. 
> 
> The “It’s not Sunset Cis either” playlist can be found [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5Jhsn0cg0JZskwAGwc6ZXP?si=-SUrLQPgS_mbtwaUzl2tcQ%E2%80%9C).

“Next up on 90s on 9, we’ve got a classic Trevor Wilson hit, ‘Crooked Teeth.’”

_I look out from my own eyes like a diver from a mask  
I’m deep inside a worldview I know can never last_

“Woah,” Alex laughs, “deja vu.”

“What do you mean?” Julie asks. 

“I wrote this song the last time Reggie had surgery,” Luke explains. 

_My teeth hurt  
The cause unclear  
Pulled out some black material lodged in my inner ear_

The band is sitting in a hospital room, only a few hours after Alex and Reggie’s top surgery. Willie, Ray, and Carlos stepped out to get food for everyone, thinking Alex and Reggie were going to sleep for a while. The two of them are still very drugged up, but apparently at least Alex is awake enough to recognize their old song. 

“So it _is_ about Reggie?” Julie asks. 

“‘S not,” Reggie protests. 

_My teeth hurt  
I don’t know why  
I refuse to call this living life and I refuse to die_

“I mean, it’s sort of about all three of us,” Luke says, “but it was inspired by something Reggie said.”

“Told you,” Alex slurs, sticking his tongue out at Reggie. 

“He said it’s about you too, dipshit,” Reggie retorts. 

_I turn the amp up high and my incisors start to scream  
The treble’s like a root canal  
The bass is oral surgery_

Luke rolls his eyes. “Reg had to have his wisdom teeth removed ‘cause they were super fucked—“

“They hurt,” Reggie chimes in. 

“—and afterwards when he was still drugged up he told me that that’s what dysphoria felt like. Like a constant toothache that won’t go away no matter what you do. And eventually, you start to wonder if you should do something big like surgery, and go through a whole lot of intense pain all at once in order to never feel that pain again, or if you should just deal with the mild pain and do your best to ignore it, so you don’t have to feel something so intense.” 

_I turn the music louder as a test of my endurance  
I don’t believe in novocaine or have dental insurance_

“Music helps,” Alex says, and Reggie nods. 

“Yeah,” Luke says, “Reg said that playing with us, it made the toothache feel a little bit better.”

_My teeth hurt, but I don’t care  
The ache inside reminds my mind my body’s really there  
That’s why my teeth hurt, but I don’t complain  
When pleasure lets you down you learn to lean into the pain_

“Wow,” Julie says. She’s known this song by heart since the first time she and her mom sang it together in the car, but now it’s like listening to a whole new song. “I had no idea this song was that deep.”

“Cis people,” Alex snorts. 

Luke rolls his eyes. “I think he means it doesn’t have the same meaning when Bobby sings it. He helped me write it, but he didn’t really understand the feelings behind it, you know?” 

_I look out from my own eyes like a diver from a mask  
I don’t know how I’m doing lately_

“ _Fuck you if you ask!_ ” the three boys scream together. Julie jumps, but she breaks out into laughter with them. Well, as much laughter as Alex and Reggie can manage in their weakened state. 

“‘S the best part,” Reggie grins. 

Julie smiles back at him. She can perfectly imagine the three of them (and Trevor, she supposes) screaming that lyric into the crowds at grungy punk clubs, and having the crowd scream it right back. It feels thoroughly _Sunset Curve_.

_My teeth hurt, but I don’t seek a cure  
I’m not sure I can bite the hand that feeds me anymore_

“You don’t seem to upset that Trevor took this one,” Julie says to Luke. 

He shrugs. “We talked about it. Besides, it’s a great song, and if him recording it means it gets to play on the radio in _this_ particular moment, then I think it’s worth it.”

_I’m sure my teeth hurt  
But again, I don’t know why  
I brushed and brushed  
I must just be a teeth hurt kind of guy_

Julie looks at Alex and Reggie, definitely out of it, but still buzzing with anxiety to see the final results. Their toothaches have lasted twenty-five years too long—they endured that pain for _so long_ —and now it’s finally gone. 

“Yeah,” Julie agrees. “Definitely worth it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow two fics in one day. I should maybe sleep now.
> 
> I’m wr0temyway0ut on tumblr if you want to come chat about these ghosties or request a fic for this series. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated if you enjoyed :)


End file.
